Development Connections: The Hedgerow Model

In economic thinking, development is a teleologic process; it aims to accomplish changes that will bring the state of the world closer to some preferred state. Different development actors and agents hold different visions of the preferred state—the goal. For development to achieve its objectives, the process must be well matched to the goal. One version of the development process will be described in this essay and given the name hedgerow model of development. This model is intended to be a good match for a particular goal that I will refer to as SAEJAS (socially and environmentally just and sustainable) development. Before setting out the model, it will be useful to explain what is meant by this development goal. The goal of SAEJAS development departs from the common (though not always explicit) equation of “development” with “growth in GNP or GDP.” Such growth may be an important aspect of development, but it is a means, not an end in itself—to be valued only when it is an effective means to ultimate goals. The final goal embedded in SAEJAS development is distilled from many sources, including the Human Development Reports of the UNDP, the 1987 report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, and work by theorists such as David Seckler, Amartya Sen, and Paul Streeten. Drawing on these sources, the goal of SAEJAS development may be analyzed into three statements: (1) Development is the use of economic means to enhance people’s choices and improve human well-being; (2) Development must be especially concerned with the people who now have the poorest choice set and the most unsatisfactory quality of life; and (3) Achievements in development must not imperil the range of choices or the well-being of people in the future. SAEJAS development differs from the standard economic focus on output growth, which has been relatively insensitive to goals (2) and (3).